Page 119 of Double Take

“What you wanna bet Bridgette was the one who took care of all of the medical records that went missing? No doubt Michael had something to do with that. Maybe because she thinks Lainie stole Adam from her sister and this is her form of revenge?”

“That’s my guess.”

“Unbelievable. Hurry!”

Twenty-Six

Lainie’s words hadn’t stopped him, but his buzzing phone had. Michael had lowered the weapon and looked at the screen while sweat broke across her brow and panic threatened to consume her.

A curse ruptured from him and he swiped the screen. “Mom? What do you want? I’m a little busy right now.” He shot a furious glance at Lainie, then he raced out the door, leaving her alone. His mother had just saved her life. She’d tell the woman thank you when she had a chance.Ifshe had a chance.

And now she was going to have to do something if she wanted to stay alive. Once again, she pressed her feet to the floor, and while she wobbled with the chair on her back, she managed to shuffle into the kitchen, ears tuned to the front door. She scanned the countertop, but there was no knife block in sight.

Thankfully, he’d put her hands on the outer sides of the chair arms, and she was able to slip her fingers around the drawer knobs and pull.

Her breaths came in pants, her adrenaline chugged like a runaway locomotive, and all she could think was that if he came back before she was loose, she was dead.

Finally, on the last pull, she found a junk drawer with a pair of scissors on top. She grabbed them and set the chair down with a hard thud.

She didn’t bother glancing at the door, just worked to maneuver the scissors, praying she wouldn’t drop them. If they hit the floor...

She tried again. Missed. Tried again, missed. A sob slipped out.Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Whatif it’s the next try that makes the difference?It took her way longer than she would have liked, but on the sixth try, the edge of one blade slipped under the zip tie. She twisted it so the inside blade was against the plastic, then using her middle finger and thumb, she pinched the handles together. She got most of the way through the tie when the strength in her hand quit and a cramp set in. The scissors fell to the floor.

“Ah! Please, God!” With a desperate cry and a hard tug, she jerked her wrist and the tie broke. Panting, crying, with hope springing from within, she grabbed the scissors once more and cut herself free, only to hear footsteps on the porch as the last tie fell from her ankle.

She hurtled herself out the kitchen door and beelined toward the woods. It took her a moment to realize she knew exactly where she was and where she needed to run.

The harsh cry behind her crossed the distance between her and her captor, spurring her on. She crashed through the trees, looking for the trail that would lead her to the Gonzaleses’ store. But did she dare go there?

Did she dare not? She needed a phone and help. The store had locks and security. And landline phones.

She pushed on, the undergrowth doing its best to trip her up, but she stayed on her feet, the sound of Michael somewhere behind her giving her the incentive to keep going.

Finally, heart ready to rupture through her chest, she burst from the trees into the parking lot. A quick glance behind her showed Michael way closer than she thought he was. She hit the rear door of the store and twisted the handle.

Locked.

“Oh, please,” she whispered and ran around the side of the building to the front and slipped through the double glass doors.

She twisted the deadbolt and spun to find Mama Maria gaping at her from behind the register. “Lainie?”

“Is anyone else here?”

“No, just me. I was getting ready to lock up.” She nodded at the glass doors. “That was my last lock.”

“Call 911. A killer just chased me through the woods. Where’s Señor G?”

Fear bloomed on her face. “He ran an errand. He’ll be back soon. A killer? What you mean, a killer?”

“No time to explain, just call him first and tell him to call 911, but to stay away from the store. And you stay behind the counter. Do you have a gun somewhere?”

“In the safe in the office. Should I get it?”

“No time. Make the call.” She’d have to find another weapon.

The woman bustled to the phone on the wall, pulled the receiver, and hunkered down as instructed. While she made the call, Lainie hurried to the back of the store, looked out the storage room window to see Michael burst through the tree line. Then he disappeared around the side of the store and Lainie raced back to the front. Michael appeared at the glass doors, caught her gaze, and raised the gun.

And fired.

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